Think about social classes: are the aims for the future of France the same or different for the (1) idealistic revolutionary; (2) the sans-culottes (poor city dwellers); and (3) the rural peasantry? With what future would each be satisfied?
Think about stages of the revolution. It begins with the first revolution (1789-1792), which began with the revolt of the Third Estate at the Estates General, saw the formation of a constitutional monarchy by the National Assembly with the establishment of the Legislative Assembly using a constitutional monarchy, and ended with threats from abroad to intervene and the September massacres. These massacres, the suspension of the 1791 Constitution by the Legislative Assembly, and the call for elections to establish a republican form of government based on universal male suffrage (vote), signal the beginning of a second revolution (1792-1794). The revolutionaries established the National Convention which featured the rule by revolutionaries, with factionalism developing between the Mountain and the Girondins. This period saw continued war on the continent, the execution of Louis XVI in 1793, continued difficulties in solving France's economic troubles, and the Terror. By 1795, the more conservative revolutionaries who had led liberal Revolution in 1789 reasserted their authority, ending the Terror for good, and wrote a new republican constitution featuring a five-member executive: the Directory, which ruled until 1799. What happens then? Napoleon.
Think about the test questions. The first asks you how "well the ideals of the Enlightenment were implemented in the revolution." Make yourself 2-3 t-charts (yes/no) organized by ideal (for example, liberty, which you should define) and chart the events and policies that were aimed at achieving (or destroying) liberty from 1789-1799, then pick another Enlightenment ideal and continue with another t-chart. When you are done, you will have reorganized the Palmer reading by events anchored to Enlightenment ideals. Make sure you not only have a thesis, but a solid plan for how you will handle the supporting body paragraphs, all responsive to the question.
The second question asks you "who had the better understanding of society and how it should be reformed, Edmund Burke or Maximilian Robespierre?" First, how would you define society and its fundamental nature? What does it have to do with culture? Does your idea correspond more to Burke or Robespierre? Second, any society is still made up of individual people, so maybe you should also consider the fundamental nature of man and whether it is societal institutions are corrupting or useful in term of educating, governing, etc. Third, consider the definition of "reform." Finally, address the claim and supporting evidence of Burke and Robespierre in the primary sources discussed in class. Your thesis should respond directly to the question and your supporting paragraphs should provide analysis of the arguments used by B and R.
We encourage you to look back at the film we watched on the French Revolution, available here:
If you do not have time, here is a short video recapping events from Crash Course:
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